Sometimes we just have to resort to trickery. I know that statement will send shock waves to the entire blogging world but yes, it's true - I sometimes have to do things in a devious manner to make sure there's a good final outcome - hence - the end justifies the means. I'm also sure that by now you're thinking - like what the heck is she babbling about.
Well, when Psychgrad was much younger and as many of you already know, an incredibly fussy eater, I would do whatever I had to in order to make sure vegetables made it past her lips. Fast forward the clock and now I'm resorting to devious means with my own mother (baba as we call her - see side bar on right hand side of page). At the age of 86 (don't tell her I told you - she's a little sensitive about her age), her eating habits are, well, less than perfect. The one thing I do know is that she enjoys something on the sweet side with her afternoon tea or coffee. Her diet is completely fibre poor so herein lies the deceit. Baba will have her sweets but I'll definitely make sure she gets her dose of fibre.
This recipe comes from Anne Lindsay's Light Kitchen cookbook. Anne Lindsay is a well known Canadian cookbook author and this cookbook was written in support of one of the charities I support - The United Way of Canada.
Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup wheat bran
1/2 cut oat bran
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped prunes
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup buttermilk or soured milk*
1/4 cup vegetable oil
Grated rind of 1 lemon and 1 orange
1 tbsp sesame seeds
Process:
1. In a large bowl, combine flour, wheat bran, oat bran, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir in prunes.
2. In a separate bowl, mix egg, buttermilk, oil and lemon and orange rinds.
3. Pour into flour mixture and stir just enough to moisten, being careful not to overmix.
4. Spoon into sprayed muffin tins. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.
5. Bake in 375 F (190 C) oven for 20 minutes or until tops are firm to the touch. (mine were done in about 18 minutes)
6. Makes 12 muffins
+ To sour milk, add 1 tbsp (15 ml) lemon juice or vinegar to 1 cup (250 ml) milk and let stand for 10 minutes. I found this fabulous product that I now swear by. I've never seen it in Canada but did pick it up on a recent trip to the U.S. I plan to stock up next trip across the border.
The nice thing is that each muffin has 3 g dietary fibre which is 3 g more than baba is getting now.
21 comments:
These look great! I am always on the lookout for a new healthy muffin.
I'm always looking for ways to squeeze fiber unknowingly into my little one's diet. These are perfect!
Bran muffins are something my mum would 'force' upon us lol We love them though- I really need to make my own :)
Call me a freak but as a kid I liked bran muffins...maybe it was the sugar, the nuts but I liked 'em!
Oh my goodness! I LOVE bran muffins and I LOVE prunes and I've never been smart enough to put them together. With the citrus too?? You are a GENIUS! I'm so starring this recipe to use! Thanks!
Ooh... these remind me of the Six Week Muffin recipe (linked to my name) I make! And how good of you to sneak some fiber (and iron and calcium!) into your mother!
These sound delicious, and the fact that they help you to get up your fibre and fruit intake is even better!
These look wonderful and I resort to tricks all the time with my one little picky eater.
mmmm, you've just added fuel to my muffin addiction! These look so delicious! And I'm all for kitchen trickery of the healthier kind.
I love powdered buttermilk! It's one of my favorite kitchen tricks.
So did Baba like them? Did it work?
I have that buttermilk! It seems to work well, but I have a warning for you.
After a couple of months it clumps up, and gets really hard. So use it up!
The muffins look great. I really like bran muffin-they're so flavorful.
Ben- the muffins are really not sweet - just a hint
Recipegirl - if you add a little jam to them the kids won't even know it's healthy
Pixie - these are pathetically simple and freeze really well
Katie - wish I could take license for the genius but alas I just read the recipe
Ann - the best part of all this is that my mom is the one who always talks about healthy diets while her own is sorely lacking - it's one of those do as I tell you and not as I do scenarios
Neen - so far, the muffins made it to her freezer - with great objection I might add.
Emeline - thanks for the tip - I'd never seen this product until recently - we don't have it in Canada so it's good to know it has a short shelf life.
What a great blog this is. Always lots going on. I have an 87yr old mother-in-law whose diet is fibre poor. She also has a very sweet tooth so maybe I'll whip up a batch of these. I always have buttermilk in the fridge. I am lucky to get it with ease in this country. It's always on the supermarket shelves.
xxx
My mom used to perform the same tricks and I'm grateful she did! They look just about ready for a bite :)
Oh these DO look so scrummy bran & citrus just so perfect!
Rosie x
LOL ... the child learns well from the teacher. My Mama used to make milk from a powder and put it into the milk jug ... we told her we did not like powdered milk, she would wait until we had drunk all of it to spring her "trick" :)
How devious! My mom used to trick me too--she used to melt mashed potatoes into my chicken noodle soup. I don't know what she might have put in muffins, but who cares as long as it tastes good!
The prune bran muffins sound both good and healthy.
those look great, esp w/the citrus. i love that buttermilk cultured powder - it's all i use now! :)
Giz, thanks for the link to this recipe. I'll add it to my "to try" file. I love the addition of lemon & orange peel.
I don't want to end up using too much baking soda in a recipe, but that sodium-free stuff did not work out for me. I'd rather use a good, sound recipe with real baking soda and cut back on salt elsewhere.
Thanks again!
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